2023-12-15 19:22:21
Win and drive away all the ghosts. That is the objective that Barcelona has this Saturday at Mestalla. The team coached by of Champions. Anything other than a victory would increase the schism that has engulfed all of culé news for days.
«What the club needs is stability. We know that football has no memory. When I say that we are under construction it is because there will be potholes, but we have to continue believing in the project, even if we lose or draw in Valencia,” said Xavi in the press conference prior to his team’s match against the Ché team. The Terrassa coach reacted to the criticism and even confronted the journalists who were covering the event. «None of you congratulated me at the last press conference for the classification. This is the unreality that I see. If the season ends as excellent, what? », He assured.
His words are another example of the tension that has taken over the culé club in the last week. In just a few days we have gone from the euphoria due to the victories against Porto and Atlético to a generalized depression due to losing against Girona and Antwerp. And those two setbacks have taken a toll on the club not only because of the defeats, but because of the image of a team that has collapsed in both matches. In the derby they conceded four goals that undermined the morale of a group that arrived at the Champions League in pieces and with Laporta and Deco urging Xavi to urgently change the squad list.
That final decision, with Lewandowski even starting, did not change the outcome of a match that set off all the alarms. Barça had one of its worst games and will land at Mestalla this Saturday with the urgency of winning civilly or criminally. “It’s a final,” Xavi said this Friday. To do this, he will be able to count on all his players except for the injured Gavi, Ter Stegen, Iñigo Martínez and Marcos Alonso. There will, therefore, be De Jong, who has already overcome the feverish process that made him miss the Antwerp event and will be able to be part of an eleven in which Cancelo will recover the left-handed side, in which Pedri and Gündogan are expected to accompany the Dutch at the axis and in which Lewandowski will once again have Joao Félix and Raphinha as partners at the spearhead.
A Valencia in need
Opposite will be a team that is not going to give anything away, it cannot afford it. Valencia is going through a delicate moment after having added just one point from the last twelve and faces the duel against Barcelona with the need to win to get out of the hole and climb in a classification in which it still has not taken off. «I ask the fans to go to the game en masse. If I were a fan I would want my team to be brave, aggressive, take risks and look for Barça. May my team compete at 200%. “We have to be forceful when it comes to our commitment,” Baraja said this Friday, appealing to Mestalla.
And the fact is that player number twelve can be fundamental for a Valencia that will have to face Barcelona without some of its most important players. Javi Guerra and Gabriel Paulista will miss the match due to suspension after being sent off the previous day, while José Luis Gayà and André Almeida will be a doubt until the last minute due to physical problems.
-Probable alignments:
Valencia: Mamardashvili, Correia, Diakhaby, Mosquera, Yarek, Pepelu, Amallah, Foulquier, Diego Lopez, Fran Perez and Hugo Duro.
Barcelona: Iñaki Peña, Kound, Araujo, Christensen, Cancelo, Gundogan, De Jong, Pedri, Raphinha, Lewandowski and Joao Felix.
Referee: Ortiz Arias (Madrid Committee).
Time: 9:00 p.m.
Stadium: Mestalla.
TV: Movistar LaLiga.
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